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A department shapes the world |
Dear readers,
Since ETH Zurich launched its computer science degree programme in 1981, roughly 3'500 students have graduated and are now shaping the world in various roles. On the occasion of our 40th anniversary, we shine a spotlight on our alumni. One of them is Michael Baumer, who currently uses his skills and experiences in politics as Zurich City Councillor.
However, our alumni are not the only ones making us proud. For the second time in a row, a team of ETH students took first place at the Cyber 9/12 Strategy Challenge in Geneva. Three of the four team members and their two coaches are Master’s students in Computer Science and Cyber Security at our department. Congratulations!
Further, you can read how a new AI developed at our department might help us make fewer typos on our touchscreens and how our researchers have contributed to a global metagenomics project.
Stay tuned on what else is happening in our department and enjoy reading this edition of READ.ME.
I wish you a good start to the upcoming summer break.
Best regards,
![](https://files.ethz.ch/newsmailer/d-infk_readme/2021/2021-04/edito_signature.png) Timothy Roscoe Department Head |
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Faculty and staff |
We would like to extend a warm welcome to all new staff members who have joined our department by the end of last month. We look forward to working with you. Our new staff
To the staff who are leaving us, we wish you the best of luck in your future careers and hope to work with you again someday. Farewells |
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Prizes and awards |
Congratulations to our faculty, researchers and students who have won prizes, awards and fellowships for their work. We are proud of you and thank you for asserting our reputation. Browse our award section |
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First place at Cyber 9/12 Strategy Challenge
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| Once again, an ETH team coached by the student organisation Cyber Group has won first place at the Cyber 9/12 Strategy Challenge in Geneva. Well done, Team Argonauts and coaches! |
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Awards for excellent Master's graduates
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| Four Computer Science and two Data Science Master's graduates have received a silver ETH Medal or a Willi Studer Prize. Congratulations, Anouk, David, Lara, Lenart, Stefan and Thomas! |
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D-INFK maintains global ranking
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| The 2021 ShanghaiRanking lists D-INFK as the fifth-best computer science department once again. While rankings are not everything, we thank all department members for contributing to our reputation. |
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Passed doctoral examinations: May 2021 |
Johannes Kirschner (Prof. Andreas Krause) Information-directed Sampling Frequentist Analysis and Applications (17.05.)
Seyed Reza Sefidgar (Prof. David Basin) Formal verification of composable security proofs (28.05.)
Congratulations to our newly minted Doctors of Sciences ETH Zurich!
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Happy 40th anniversary, D-INFK! |
Throughout this special year, we'll be presenting you stories and other activities. Stay tuned and visit our anniversary website.
We are looking to portray D-INFK alumnae and alumni with an unusual or distinguished career. Do you know someone? Tell us! |
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From the archives: Lilith workstation
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| The Lilith computer, developed at ETH Zurich by Professor Niklaus Wirth, was one of the first workstations to feature a graphical user interface and a computer mouse. The TV programme Karussell, broadcast by SRF on September 6, 1983, showcased the novelty. |
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Stories of the month |
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AI touchscreen with super-resolution
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| Prof. Christian Holz, Paul Streli Christian and his doctoral student Paul have developed CapContact, an AI solution that enables touchscreens to sense with eight times higher resolution than currently existing devices. |
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Of course it's for girls!
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Prof. Juraj Hromkovic Under Juraj's direction, the ABZ trained kids for the robotics competition "First Lego League". Two teams made it to the finals, one of which, the i-Girls, was received by ETH Rector Sarah Springman for a visit. |
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Upcoming events |
D-MAVT Focus Roll-out 2021, June 1, 14:00-17:30 Our colleagues at D-MAVT are inviting you to join the presentation of this year's focus projects developed by the senior Bachelor's students of mechanical engineering. Get inspired by the great variety and ingenuity of the projects, which range from rockets to robots. More information |
ETH Game Programming Lab Final Presentations, June 1, 17:00-19:00 The Game Technology Center is inviting everyone to the annual final presentations of the Game Programming Lab. Six student teams will present their games based on Grimms' fairy tales to be judged both by an expert jury and by the audience. The live stream is open to the public. More information |
CSNOW talk with Prof. Valentina Boeva, June 3, 13:00-13:30 In this short online talk hosted by CSNOW, Valentina will showcase her research and answer participants' questions about her career in academia. All department members are invited. Register now |
Editathon on Diversity, June 3, 13:00-18:00 Did you know that only 18% of biographies on Wikipedia are about women and almost 90% of its editors are male? Help bring more diversity to the online encyclopaedia in this editathon, jointly organised by ETH Zurich’s Office for Equal Opportunities and Diversity, EPFL, and Wikimedia CH. More information
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Computer Science Colloquium: Neurosymbolic Reasoning for Program Synthesis and Beyond, June 7, 16:15-17:15 Join MIT Professor Armando Solar-Lezama in exploring the use of neurosymbolic techniques for automated programming. In this colloquium, hosted by Prof. Martin Vechev, Prof. Solar-Lezama will describe the broad landscape of neurosymbolic techniques and their various applications. More information |
LEOCONN, June 9-10 If low earth orbit satellite networks are your thing, don't miss LEOCONN: the free, fully virtual webinar organised by the Network Design Lab, led by Prof. Ankit Singla. Ankit and his team are bringing together speakers from industry and academia to explore system design and security of LEO satellite networks. More information |
Hack Zurich – Applications open June 23 Don't miss out on one of the limited spots in Europe's biggest hackathon: the applications for HackZurich open on June 23. The event will take place at the end of September and feature prominent tech leaders and researchers. More information |
Master's degree graduation ceremony, June 25, 16:00-17:45 The next Master's graduation ceremony for our Computer Science and Data Science graduates will take place in a virtual format, with only the speakers, the helpers and the prize winners being present in Audi Max. Would you like to join the livestream? Request a link from the graduation team. |
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Past events |
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Distinguished Colloquium
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| Did you miss a colloquium you wanted to attend? Not a problem: you can now watch video recordings of all the talks from the Spring Semester 2021 online (password required). |
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Opening of the Design++ centre
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| Our professors Stelian Coros, Marc Pollefeys, and Siyu Tang were part of the opening of the Center for Augmented Computational Design in Architecture, Engineering and Construction (Design++) on May 27. |
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Meet the Talent with our ESOP students
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| Three of our Excellence Scholars presented their work at ETH Foundation's annual Meet the Talent event, which was held in a hybrid format. Thank you, Hanna Ragnarsdottir, Zilin Wang, and Václav Volhejn. |
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D-INFK in the news |
• | | David Dao, doctoral student Körber Stiftung: Podcast – Wälder, Klima und KI Listen to podcast |
• | | Till Bay, D-INFK alumnus Netzwoche: Was agile Softwareentwicklung ausmacht Read article |
• | | Julian Mäder, Media Technology Center Blick: So soll Siri auf Schweizerdeutsch klingen Watch video |
• | | Gabriela Keller, D-INFK alumna Swico News: Gabriela Keller, CEO von Ergon, brennt für IT Read article |
• | | Prof. Ce Zhang, D-INFK spin-off Modulos Handelszeitung: Machine Learning für Laien Read article |
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Tip of the month – Read D-INFK news in the ETH app |
Stay up to date with the latest department stories using the ETH mobile app. As of now, you can select D-INFK in your newsfeed settings, along with any other ETH channels that interest you. The app also provides campus maps, cafeteria menus, events and a people search. Download for iOS | Download for Android
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Please meet... |
Chantal Winkelmann, contact person for D-INFK in the ETH Finance and Controlling division
Describe what you do in one sentence. I support four departments in financial matters.
What do you like most about your role? I enjoy working in an advisory capacity, but the in-depth work or projects in the background also interest and challenge me.
What are the most important skills someone in your role must have? An understanding of the (financial) processes is certainly helpful, but also a certain willingness to find solutions for the more specific issues.
What is your favourite place at and around ETH and why? I like ETH Hönggerberg and the Center equally. I like the ambience at ETH and the different people.
How do you spend your leisure time? I enjoy being outdoors in nature most of all. Besides that, I also like to be engaged in club activities. |
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Open positions |
Digital Festival Digital Festival and HackZurich are looking for volunteers. The festival and hackathon is a summit for CEOs and IT officers from world-renowned tech companies, entrepreneurs, researchers and hackers who will all be sharing their expertise, experience and visions with the festival’s visitors – and the volunteers make it possible. Apply now
D-INFK IT Service Group Do you know an IT specialist interested in working at our department? The ISG is looking for a Linux system engineer to develop its Gitlab instance and support our researchers. Learn more
armasuisse The Cyber-Defence Campus connects the Swiss Department of Defence, industry and science to strengthen research, development and training for cyber defence. The CYD is looking for a scientific project manager to lead scientific and technical projects in cooperation with universities, companies and the Swiss Army. Learn more |
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The coronavirus will continue to affect our lives and our work for some time to come. To keep you informed about news, regulations and projects connected to the pandemic, we will add a short COVID-19 section to the end of every READ.ME until further notice. |
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Working from home no longer compulsory
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| Although remote work is still recommended, as of June 7, employees may work on ETH premises again if they wish. Please coordinate with your supervisor and note that maintaining physical distance and at least 10 m² per person, wearing masks and registering your presence is still mandatory. Furthermore, anyone coming to ETH once a week or more should get tested. |
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Weekly testing recommended for working on campus
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| It is strongly recommended that anyone coming to campus once a week or more gets tested, with the exception of people who have recovered from Covid within the past six months and those who are fully vaccinated. ETH provides its own CoVMass testing programme with pooled PCR tests. Rapid antigen tests done at a pharmacy are an alternative. |
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